Health
No single test to diagnose long COVID patients, according to international researchers
in short:
International researchers have found that there is no single, reliable test to diagnose long COVID.
The study included more than 10,000 adult participants looking at both COVID-19 and long COVID.
What's next?
Some experts are calling for more federal investment to improve basic health care.
A new study finds that more than 20 laboratory tests fail to diagnose Long COVID, suggesting there may be no reliable way to diagnose the condition.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health compared study participants' questionnaires and laboratory test results to determine whether COVID-19 caused persistent laboratory abnormalities and whether symptoms were present.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed Annals of Internal Medicine, included more than 10,000 adult patients being investigated for COVID-19 and long COVID. It found that none of 25 routine test results were clinically useful in diagnosing patients with long COVID.
So what is Long COVID?
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare defines long COVID as cases in which symptoms appear around 12 weeks after initial infection.
Ah, jOintment study published in March A study by ANU and Western Australian Health found 90 per cent of participants with long COVID-19 suffered from multiple symptoms.
These symptoms included fatigue, lethargy, “brain fog,” trouble sleeping, coughing and changes in the menstrual cycle.
The report noted that “15.2% of people with long-term COVID-19 who were working or studying before infection have reduced their working hours, and 2.7% have not returned to work at all.”
What do you mean by there being no single test to diagnose Long COVID?
James Trower, head of epidemiological modelling at Monash University's school of public health and preventive medicine, said it was better to think of long COVID as an umbrella term rather than a single condition.
He said the range of symptoms – shortness of breath, loss of smell, confusion and fatigue – were very different from the neurological, respiratory and cardiac symptoms.
“Some illnesses have more psychological factors than others. We need to think about this as multiple illnesses. We need to start categorizing it into different illnesses,” he said.
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Dr. Trauer said the way forward is to recognize the similarities between long COVID and other post-viral syndromes that occur after contracting infectious mononucleosis or Lyme disease.
“Grouping [long COVID] “We're working with them on a serious research effort to understand what immune responses cause what symptoms and how we can manage each of those symptoms,” he said.
“If there’s one silver lining from the COVID-19 experience, I hope people start paying a little more attention to these other illnesses.
“Patients are complaining [them] For a very long time, and also, they have not been associated with obvious laboratory abnormalities.”
Does this mean there is no way to diagnose long COVID?
Dr. Michelle Schooler, a senior research fellow at the Burnett Institute, specializes in long COVID at Clinic 19.
She said while there may not be a biomarker to diagnose long COVID-19, there are other ways to diagnose patients suffering from the disease.
“What we have are diagnostic criteria, clinical criteria that people can access and use to make sure we don't miss a diagnosis of long COVID,” Dr. Schooler said.
“It's really important that the lack of a diagnostic marker doesn't get in the way of diagnosing long COVID-19 patients, because now we can.”
Dr. Schooler last year Parliamentary Inquiry on Long COVIDrecommended better data collection and treatment guidelines regarding COVID-19.
“So I think the next thing to do is put that into action and support it, and part of that is making sure clinicians are aware of how to recognize long COVID, how to diagnose it, and then the next steps of what to do next,” Dr. Schooler said.
But some experts Federal government response A missed opportunity to investigate.
In its response to the inquiry, the government noted a recommendation to fund multi-specialty long-term COVID clinics in major hospitals, but said it was up to state and territory governments to decide how to spend existing funding.
Some experts say strengthening primary care would help long COVID patients
Victoria's RACGP chair Dr Anita Munoz said more resources needed to be directed towards general practice to address the lack of simple, reliable tests for long COVID-19.
“What's needed is a really thorough medical history, thorough testing, and the use of other tests and investigations to rule out symptoms that resemble long COVID,” she said.
“So all of this takes time. It requires multiple consultations and patients often have to undergo a series of tests.”
She said proper clinical medicine was the only way to diagnose long COVID-19 and it cannot be rushed.
“And unfortunately, funding sources don't reward or incentivize clinicians who spend quality time with patients,” she said.
Dr Jenny Huang, a general practitioner at the long COVID clinic in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, said she often uses the analogy of responding to floods or fires when talking about tackling long COVID.
“We can't ignore the fires and floods downstream and the people caught up in them. We can't leave them to fend for themselves,” she said.
Dr Huang believes he is only seeing the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the effects of long-term COVID-19.
“I know a lot of patients are coming to us, up to four hours away, because they're not getting help from their regular doctor, their GP or their secondary care provider. They just don't have that time,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the issue is supporting the people on the ground who can help patients, [clinicians] We need those resources to help them.”
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